Be rational about studs

As a user of studded tires since their inception, I should be prepared to pay for the damage done to roadways. I’ve seen no creditable study on the issue and don’t know what it would cost us users to pay for it. If it’s $10 per tire for the life of the tire, I’d pay it and keep using them! If it’s $100 per tire, I’d reluctantly stop. Why not make rational decisions on the subject and quit yelling and screaming at one another?

A good quality estimate of each of the variables involved is certainly within the skills of either Washington State University or the university schools of civil engineering or a good professional engineering firm. These folks are certainly capable of reasonable estimates even though hard facts on such an issue are probably unavailable.

I’d be pleased to live with such findings, but I have a hard time with the “either, or” attitude expressed by many who have little or no experience with the use of studded tires.

Wallace Foster

Colville